A/N: Okay, so the magical snow spirits have provided me with a snow day, which meant that I actually had time to add the finishing touches to this chapter :) Hope you all enjoy

Thanks to:
starr1095 - That's a very good point... Thankyou for pointing that out, and it's fixed now :)
ernesdo - I apologize for my being confusing. Sometimes I tend to just write down what pops into my head... Unfortunately it doesn't always make sense
NightLover432 - Sorry about that. I was trying to avoid having to write in specific points of view by focusing on specific characters between page breaks. I didn't mean to confuse you...
alissarhode: Thank you! She's not a vampire yet... That was just a dream because she passed out... Sorry about that... It would seem that my last chapter was very confusing... And no worries, more of that shall be coming :)

Chapter 26

Ash watched his mother carefully. She could strike at any minute. Thoughts were flying through his head like the yellow leaves that swirled around in a wind storm in fall. They were rapid and if you tried to follow their twists and turns they took as they flew by, you would make yourself dizzy. He could strike first, but then how would he feel if he killed her. It was out of self defines though, wasn't it? Ash tried to convince himself that it was - she had hurt his soulmate, and him by default. But something didn't seem right about that. He couldn't attack his very own mother, could he? Granted, she had hurt him pretty bad in the past few days, but she was still his mother. She had raised him (sort of) and cared for him. Frantically searching his brain for even the smallest reason not to attack his mother. However, his searching was rapidly put to an end as his decision was made for him.

Not even a twitch of movement gave Dahlia away, and Ash suddenly was on the ground. His mother was above him, eyes wild. Her teeth had extended as she jumped, and they were now long, pointed curves of white. She snapped her jaw together furiously in an attempt to bite him. Ash's instantly stiffened in shock. He twitched frantically to try to avoid his mother's teeth. She was a skilled huntress though, and it wouldn't take much time before she succeeded. He needed to think of something quickly. As he carefully evaded his mother's teeth and tried to think of how he could save both himself and Mary-Lynette, a piercing shriek echoed in the air around him. It wasn't Mary-Lynette though. Someone else must have seen the fight. Not letting himself be distracted, Ash heard a vehicle pull up as voices grew louder and frantic sounding at an alarming rate. Dahlia didn't allow herself to be distracted either. In fact, she fought harder against her son, movements getting quicker and her precision becoming more deadly - she was determined to kill him before someone intervened.

A slamming noise was heard and Ash heard his name shouted by three female voices - his sisters. His body automatically stiffened at the sound of his name being called, and in his split second of distraction, Dahlia struck. Ash closed his eyes and prayed it would be over quickly. He knew his chances of a quick death were slim - his mother felt betrayed and would want to torment him and kill him slowly as a result. Just as he felt the sting of teeth entering his flesh, the weight of Dahlia's body was removed. Confused, Ash opened his eyes to see his sisters grappling with their mother, pulling her away from him. Looking for a moment in shock, he slowly stood up and heard a scream behind him. Resisting the urge to look behind him, Ash hoped that the gathering Daybreakers would help his soulmate. Nevertheless, the pain in Mary-Lynette's scream still resounded within him. He felt hollow inside at the thought of not being able to help her himself. Touching the small wound on his neck gingerly with his fingers as he refocused on his mother, Ash saw that his sisters were beginning to struggle and that some of the Daybreakers were moving in to help.

"Stop!" he shouted, startling the advancing teenagers. "This is my fight!"

They simply looked at him like he had lost his mind. Maybe he had; he didn't care. He needed to finish what he had started. He needed to protect Mary-Lynette! If the others helped him, it wouldn't be the same. He would be weak. He had to do this on his own. Looking at his sisters, Ash spoke once more:

"Let her go. This is our fight, not yours."

"But Ash-" Jade protested.

"No buts." He replied sharply. "I'm doing this on my own."

Ash shot his sisters a soul-stripping glare as they tried to protest once more. Realizing that their brother was being serious, they slowly loosened their grip on their mother, backing away reluctantly into the crowd. As they released her, Dahlia looked towards her son, a crooked smile slowly growing on her face. Tilting her head to one side, she let out a small laugh.

"Tsk tsk. I thought I raised you better than that, son."

"You did. You raised me to know to protect the people I love."

"Why attack me then?"

"I think you know the answer to that mother."

Dahlia retained her amused expression, though her irritation at her son's last remark was evident. She and Ash were now pacing in a circle around one another, seemingly oblivious to their audience. Each fighter feinted every few seconds, trying to deceive their opponent and potentially open up a spot to attack.

Ash was trying his hardest to not allow his mother any opportunities to attack, but as he feinted to his right, he suddenly realized that he had been sloppy - his entire left side was open and unguarded. By the time he realized this, it was too late. Dahlia struck at him yet again. This time was different though. Ash knew she would show him no mercy - not that she had before. She was more determined to succeed after his lucky escape. However, Ash was equally as determined. He really didn't care if he died, but Mary-Lynette had to be saved. If he died, then she would too. Dahlia would kill her for her blood. The thought made Ash scream out with anger. Lashing towards his mother, he managed to turn the tables - quite literally - so that he was now above her. Had he possessed a weapon - or rather, had one on him - Ash was certain he would have been able to defeat his mother immediately. However, he didn't have anything except his teeth, and those would only do so much. He wouldn't be able to kill Dahlia with his teeth alone. As much as he tried to pretend otherwise, he wasn't quite as strong as his mother. His arrogant attitude made people believe he was someone to be reckoned with - someone who knew how to fight. In honesty, he simply knew how to fight dirty. That's all he had ever done. That was how he had survived. Now he would just have to do the same thing. The only difference was that this time he was fighting against his mother. Even though she had treated him poorly, she was still his mother, and so she still knew him. Not to mention that she could read his mind as well. He would have to concentrate on blocking it as well as watching for an opening to attack.

Desperately hoping his sister's would clue into his panic and find a stake or some wood despite his plea to be left alone to fight, Ash pinned his mother to the ground. Sitting on her and putting a hand at her neck, he successfully had Dahlia gasping for air. "How does it feel, mother?" he asked scornfully. "You have no one to save you and you can't kill me with the Daybreakers around. You're fighting a losing battle."

Dahlia made no attempt to reply, and at that moment, one of the Daybreakers stepped forward holding a sharpened piece of wood. Ash didn't see who it was, but he assumed it was Rashel, who always had stakes with her. Feeling no sense of remorse or pity for his mother and what he was about to do to her, Ash re-positioned himself so that he could put the stake through her heart, but as he did so, his grip on his mother's neck loosened slightly. Ash felt his mother's body convulse beneath him as she attempted to free herself, but her fighting before had tired her out. Because Ash had a stake in her hand, she was clearly wary of him. With all the people forming a giant ring around the two, Ash was certain she was scared to attack him in case they intervened.

He got a tighter grip on her neck once again, pushing her to the ground and holding her there. Adjusting his grip on the stake, Ash prepared to strike. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Rowan, Kestrel, and Jade watching from the front of the surrounding hoard. Mary-Lynette had stood up and was standing near the girls. She was watching him intently, worry etched into her face. It mirrored the expressions on his sister's faces. Thinking of Mary-Lynette, Ash felt a sudden burst of resolution. He was going to do it. He was going to kill Dahlia for Mary-Lynette. No other reasoning was clear in his head but that. He had to do it. With a yell, he drove the stake down in a sudden sharp movement that punctured his mother's chest and went straight through her heart.

As the blood seeped through her clothes, staining the ground below the body, Dahlia spoke:

"It was all because I loved you…"

And with those simple words, Dahlia Redfern departed for the spiritual world.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that, and please remember to review :) The more reviews I get, the happier and more motivated to write I become :D
Thanks for all being so supportive throughout my story, and I promise I'll try to keep it to a maximum of 30 chapters...

Happy Writing!